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Hike Description

Portland is just coming into its own regarding street art. The shift in attitude comes with a bureaucratic relaxation of strict ordinances against illegal graffiti to accommodate “legal” street artists under the auspices of organizations like the Portland Street Art Alliance and Forest for the Trees. The latter has had an annual event since 2013 when select artists from all over the world as well as local talent are invited to paint murals on local businesses (with the full agreement of the businesses themselves, of course). Generally, the art is non-controversial in the sense that it fits what may be perceived as the city’s quirky ‘persona.’ The loop laid out here fits within a rectangle of streets, with Water Avenue to the west, 14th Avenue to the east, Ankeny Street to the north, and Madison Street to the south. While there are many murals in other parts of the city, this part of the inner Southeast has the highest density of wall art. Feel free to wander outside the parameters of this walk and discover other works. Note also that some street art is quite transient: a business may decide that it wants something else in its wall, and some ‘canvases’ are designated ‘rotating walls’ that see new creations every year. The best time to do this walk is on a Sunday morning, when there is little traffic and few parked cars to block views of the murals.

You can park almost anywhere for this excursion, but the list below follows a sequence that begins with Hair of the Dog Brewing. On the north wall is a huge tiger, Ernesto Maranje’s Guardian, striding through a garden of messages preceded by a fluttering bird. From the tiger, continue north on a convoluted clockwise loop that takes in more than 50 examples of street art. Here is some of the wall art to check out (as of early 2018; displays may change or be painted over in time!):

2nd & Belmont: Magic snail by NoseGo; giant eagles by Yatika Fields

MLK & Morrison: River of Time by Celeste Byers & Aaron Glasson (on River City Bicycles)

MLK & Stark: Mural by Joram Roukes, a Dutch artist

2nd & Stark: Greek urns by Guams, Humen & Clamo; around the corner is a large piece by Kango, Joins, giver, and other artists (on the Alexis warehouse)

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